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Xu LY, Wang W, Yang X, Wang S, Shao Y, Chen M, Sun R, Min J. Real-time monitoring polymerization degree of organic photovoltaic materials toward no batch-to-batch variations in device performance. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1248. [PMID: 38341407 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45510-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Polymerization degree plays a vital role in material properties. Previous methodologies of molecular weight control generally cannot suppress or alleviate batch-to-batch variations in device performance, especially in polymer solar cells. Herein, we develop an in-situ photoluminescence system in tandem with a set of analysis and processing procedures to track and estimate the polymerization degree of organic photovoltaic materials. To support the development of this protocol, we introduce polymer acceptor PYT constructed by near-infrared Y-series small molecule acceptors via Stille polymerization, and shed light on the correlations between molecular weight, spectral parameters, and device efficiencies that enable the design of the optical setup and confirm its feasibility. The universality is verified in PYT derivatives with stereoregularity and fluoro-substitution as well as benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-based polymers. Overall, our result provides a tool to tailor suitable conjugated oligomers applied to polymer solar cells and other organic electronics for industrial scalability and desired cost reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin-Yong Xu
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Wei Wang
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Xinrong Yang
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Shanshan Wang
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Yiming Shao
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Mingxia Chen
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Rui Sun
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Jie Min
- The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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2
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Liu B, Sun H, Lee JW, Jiang Z, Qiao J, Wang J, Yang J, Feng K, Liao Q, An M, Li B, Han D, Xu B, Lian H, Niu L, Kim BJ, Guo X. Efficient and stable organic solar cells enabled by multicomponent photoactive layer based on one-pot polymerization. Nat Commun 2023; 14:967. [PMID: 36810743 PMCID: PMC9944902 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36413-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Degradation of the kinetically trapped bulk heterojunction film morphology in organic solar cells (OSCs) remains a grand challenge for their practical application. Herein, we demonstrate highly thermally stable OSCs using multicomponent photoactive layer synthesized via a facile one-pot polymerization, which show the advantages of low synthetic cost and simplified device fabrication. The OSCs based on multicomponent photoactive layer deliver a high power conversion efficiency of 11.8% and exhibit excellent device stability for over 1000 h (>80% of their initial efficiency retention), realizing a balance between device efficiency and operational lifetime for OSCs. In-depth opto-electrical and morphological properties characterizations revealed that the dominant PM6-b-L15 block polymers with backbone entanglement and the small fraction of PM6 and L15 polymers synergistically contribute to the frozen fine-tuned film morphology and maintain well-balanced charge transport under long-time operation. These findings pave the way towards the development of low-cost and long-term stable OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Liu
- grid.411863.90000 0001 0067 3588Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Photoelectric Sensing Materials & Devices, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Sensing Materials & Devices, Center for Advanced Analytical Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 P.R. China ,grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Huiliang Sun
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Photoelectric Sensing Materials & Devices, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Sensing Materials & Devices, Center for Advanced Analytical Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, P.R. China. .,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, P.R. China.
| | - Jin-Woo Lee
- grid.37172.300000 0001 2292 0500Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141 Republic of Korea
| | - Zhengyan Jiang
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Junqin Qiao
- grid.41156.370000 0001 2314 964XState Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and Center of Materials Analysis, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023 P.R. China
| | - Junwei Wang
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Jie Yang
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Kui Feng
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Qiaogan Liao
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Mingwei An
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Bolin Li
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Dongxue Han
- grid.411863.90000 0001 0067 3588Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Photoelectric Sensing Materials & Devices, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Sensing Materials & Devices, Center for Advanced Analytical Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006 P.R. China
| | - Baomin Xu
- grid.263817.90000 0004 1773 1790Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055 P.R. China
| | - Hongzhen Lian
- grid.41156.370000 0001 2314 964XState Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering and Center of Materials Analysis, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023 P.R. China
| | - Li Niu
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Photoelectric Sensing Materials & Devices, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Sensing Materials & Devices, Center for Advanced Analytical Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, P.R. China.
| | - Bumjoon J. Kim
- grid.37172.300000 0001 2292 0500Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141 Republic of Korea
| | - Xugang Guo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, P.R. China. .,Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory Dongguan, Guangdong, 523808, P.R. China.
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Sasitharan K, Kilbride RC, Spooner EL, Clark J, Iraqi A, Lidzey DG, Foster JA. Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets as Templates to Enhance Performance in Semi-Crystalline Organic Photovoltaic Cells. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2200366. [PMID: 35599384 PMCID: PMC9313490 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202200366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing the orientation, crystallinity, and domain size of components within organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices is key to maximizing their performance. Here a broadly applicable approach for enhancing the morphology of bulk heterojunction OPV devices using metal-organic nanosheets (MONs) as additives is demonstrated. It is shown that addition of porphyrin-based MONs to devices with fully amorphous donor polymers lead to small improvements in performance attributed to increased light absorption due to nanosheets. However, devices based on semi-crystalline polymers show remarkable improvements in power conversion efficiency (PCE), more than doubling in some cases compared to reference devices without nanosheets. In particular, this approach led to the development of PffBT4T2OD-MON-PCBM device with a PCE of 12.3%, which to the authors' knowledge is the highest performing fullerene based OPV device reported in literature to date. Detailed analysis of these devices shows that the presence of the nanosheets results in a higher fraction of face-on oriented polymer crystals in the films. These results therefore demonstrate the potential of this highly tunable class of two-dimensional nanomaterials as additives for enhancing the morphology, and therefore performance, of semi-crystalline organic electronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kezia Sasitharan
- Department of ChemistryThe University of SheffieldDainton Building, Brook HillSheffieldS3 7HFUK
| | - Rachel C. Kilbride
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Emma L.K. Spooner
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Jenny Clark
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Ahmed Iraqi
- Department of ChemistryThe University of SheffieldDainton Building, Brook HillSheffieldS3 7HFUK
| | - David G. Lidzey
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Jonathan A. Foster
- Department of ChemistryThe University of SheffieldDainton Building, Brook HillSheffieldS3 7HFUK
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Su LY, Huang HH, Tsai CE, Hou CH, Shyue JJ, Lu CH, Pao CW, Yu MH, Wang L, Chueh CC. Improving Thermal and Photostability of Polymer Solar Cells by Robust Interface Engineering. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2107834. [PMID: 35532078 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202107834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
As the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) approaches 19%, increasing research attention is being paid to enhancing the device's long-term stability. In this study, a robust interface engineering of graphene oxide nanosheets (GNS) is expounded on improving the thermal and photostability of non-fullerene bulk-heterojunction (NFA BHJ) OPVs to a practical level. Three distinct GNSs (GNS, N-doped GNS (N-GNS), and N,S-doped GNS (NS-GNS)) synthesized through a pyrolysis method are applied as the ZnO modifier in inverted OPVs. The results reveal that the GNS modification introduces passivation and dipole effects to enable better energy-level alignment and to facilitate charge transfer across the ZnO/BHJ interface. Besides, it optimizes the BHJ morphology of the photoactive layer, and the N,S doping of GNS further enhances the interaction with the photoactive components to enable a more idea BHJ morphology. Consequently, the NS-GNS device delivers enhanced performance from 14.5% (control device) to 16.5%. Moreover, the thermally/chemically stable GNS is shown to stabilize the morphology of the ZnO electron transport layer (ETL) and to endow the BHJ morphology of the photoactive layer grown atop with a more stable thermodynamic property. This largely reduces the microstructure changes and the associated charge recombination in the BHJ layer under constant thermal/light stresses. Finally, the NS-GNS device is demonstrated to exhibit an impressive T80 lifetime (time at which PCE of the device decays to 80% of the initial PCE) of 2712 h under a constant thermal condition at 65 °C in a glovebox and an outstanding photostability with a T80 lifetime of 2000 h under constant AM1.5G 1-sun illumination in an N2 -controlled environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Yun Su
- Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Hsiang Huang
- Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Chang-En Tsai
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hung Hou
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Jing-Jong Shyue
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Hao Lu
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Wei Pao
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Hsuan Yu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Leeyih Wang
- Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
- Center of Atomic Initiative for New Materials, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Chu-Chen Chueh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
- Advanced Research Center for Green Materials Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
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5
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Mehdizadeh-Rad H, Sreedhar Ram K, Mehdizadeh-Rad F, Ompong D, Setsoafia DDY, Elumalai NK, Zhu F, Singh J. Sources of Thermal Power Generation and Their Influence on the Operating Temperature of Organic Solar Cells. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:420. [PMID: 35159768 PMCID: PMC8838742 DOI: 10.3390/nano12030420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Thermal stability, closely associated with the operating temperature, is one of the desired properties for practical applications of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this paper, an OSC of the structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/ZnO/Ag was fabricated, and its current-voltage (J-V) characteristics and operating temperature were measured. The operating temperature of the same OSC was simulated using an analytical model, taking into consideration the heat transfer, charge carrier drift-diffusion and different thermal generation processes. The simulated results agreed well with the experimental ones. It was found that the thermalization of charge carriers above the band gap had the highest influence on the operating temperature of the OSCs. The energy off-set at the donor/acceptor interface in the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) was shown to have a negligible impact on the thermal stability of the OSCs. However, the energy off-sets at the electrode/charge-transporting layer and BHJ/charge-transporting layer interfaces had greater impacts on the operating temperature of OSCs at the short circuit current and maximum power point conditions. Our results revealed that a variation over the energy off-set range from 0.1 to 0.9 eV would induce an almost 10-time increase in the corresponding thermal power generation, e.g., from 0.001 to 0.01 W, in the cells operated at the short circuit current condition, contributing to about 16.7% of the total solar power absorbed in the OSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad
- Energy and Resources Institute and College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; (H.M.-R.); (K.S.R.); (D.O.); (D.D.Y.S.); (N.K.E.)
| | - Kiran Sreedhar Ram
- Energy and Resources Institute and College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; (H.M.-R.); (K.S.R.); (D.O.); (D.D.Y.S.); (N.K.E.)
| | - Farhad Mehdizadeh-Rad
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75080, USA;
| | - David Ompong
- Energy and Resources Institute and College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; (H.M.-R.); (K.S.R.); (D.O.); (D.D.Y.S.); (N.K.E.)
| | - Daniel Dodzi Yao Setsoafia
- Energy and Resources Institute and College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; (H.M.-R.); (K.S.R.); (D.O.); (D.D.Y.S.); (N.K.E.)
| | - Naveen Kumar Elumalai
- Energy and Resources Institute and College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; (H.M.-R.); (K.S.R.); (D.O.); (D.D.Y.S.); (N.K.E.)
| | - Furong Zhu
- Department of Physics and Institute of Advanced Materials, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong;
| | - Jai Singh
- Energy and Resources Institute and College of Engineering, IT and Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia; (H.M.-R.); (K.S.R.); (D.O.); (D.D.Y.S.); (N.K.E.)
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6
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Ye L, Gao M, Hou J. Advances and prospective in thermally stable nonfullerene polymer solar cells. Sci China Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11426-021-1087-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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7
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Chen F, Zhang Y, Wang Q, Gao M, Kirby N, Peng Z, Deng Y, Li M, Ye L. High
T
g
Polymer Insulator Yields Organic Photovoltaic Blends with Superior Thermal Stability at 150
o
C. CHINESE J CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.202100270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Ying Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Qi Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Mengyuan Gao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Nigel Kirby
- Australian Synchrotron Clayton Victoria 3168 Australia
| | - Zhongxiang Peng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Yunfeng Deng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Tianjin University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Miaomiao Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Tianjin University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Long Ye
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Tianjin University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) Tianjin 300072 China
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology Guangzhou Guangdong 510640 China
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8
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Döhler D, Triana A, Büttner P, Scheler F, Goerlitzer ESA, Harrer J, Vasileva A, Metwalli E, Gruber W, Unruh T, Manshina A, Vogel N, Bachmann J, Mínguez-Bacho I. A Self-Ordered Nanostructured Transparent Electrode of High Structural Quality and Corresponding Functional Performance. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2100487. [PMID: 33817974 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202100487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The preparation of a highly ordered nanostructured transparent electrode based on a combination of nanosphere lithography and anodization is presented. The size of perfectly ordered pore domains is improved by an order of magnitude with respect to the state of the art. The concomitantly reduced density of defect pores increases the fraction of pores that are in good electrical contact with the underlying transparent conductive substrate. This improvement in structural quality translates directly and linearly into an improved performance of energy conversion devices built from such electrodes in a linear manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dirk Döhler
- D. Döhler, A. Triana, P. Büttner, F. Scheler, Prof. J. Bachmann, Dr. I. Mínguez-Bacho, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, IZNF, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andrés Triana
- D. Döhler, A. Triana, P. Büttner, F. Scheler, Prof. J. Bachmann, Dr. I. Mínguez-Bacho, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, IZNF, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Pascal Büttner
- D. Döhler, A. Triana, P. Büttner, F. Scheler, Prof. J. Bachmann, Dr. I. Mínguez-Bacho, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, IZNF, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Florian Scheler
- D. Döhler, A. Triana, P. Büttner, F. Scheler, Prof. J. Bachmann, Dr. I. Mínguez-Bacho, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, IZNF, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Eric S A Goerlitzer
- E. S. A. Goerlitzer, J. Harrer, Prof. N. Vogel, Institute of Particle Technology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstraße 4, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Johannes Harrer
- E. S. A. Goerlitzer, J. Harrer, Prof. N. Vogel, Institute of Particle Technology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstraße 4, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Anna Vasileva
- A. Vasileva, Prof. A. Manshina, Prof. J. Bachmann, Institute of Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg State University, Universitetskii pr. 26, St. Petersburg, 198504, Russia
| | - Ezzeldin Metwalli
- Dr. E. Metwalli, Dr. W. Gruber, Prof. T. Unruh, Institute for Crystallography and Structure Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Gruber
- Dr. E. Metwalli, Dr. W. Gruber, Prof. T. Unruh, Institute for Crystallography and Structure Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Tobias Unruh
- Dr. E. Metwalli, Dr. W. Gruber, Prof. T. Unruh, Institute for Crystallography and Structure Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Alina Manshina
- A. Vasileva, Prof. A. Manshina, Prof. J. Bachmann, Institute of Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg State University, Universitetskii pr. 26, St. Petersburg, 198504, Russia
| | - Nicolas Vogel
- E. S. A. Goerlitzer, J. Harrer, Prof. N. Vogel, Institute of Particle Technology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstraße 4, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Julien Bachmann
- D. Döhler, A. Triana, P. Büttner, F. Scheler, Prof. J. Bachmann, Dr. I. Mínguez-Bacho, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, IZNF, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- A. Vasileva, Prof. A. Manshina, Prof. J. Bachmann, Institute of Chemistry, Saint-Petersburg State University, Universitetskii pr. 26, St. Petersburg, 198504, Russia
| | - Ignacio Mínguez-Bacho
- D. Döhler, A. Triana, P. Büttner, F. Scheler, Prof. J. Bachmann, Dr. I. Mínguez-Bacho, Chemistry of Thin Film Materials, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, IZNF, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
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Levitsky A, Schneider SA, Rabkin E, Toney MF, Frey GL. Bridging the thermodynamics and kinetics of temperature-induced morphology evolution in polymer/fullerene organic solar cell bulk heterojunction. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2021; 8:1272-1285. [PMID: 34821920 DOI: 10.1039/d0mh01805h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The performance of organic solar cells (OSC) critically depends on the morphology of the active layer. After deposition, the active layer is in a metastable state and prone to changes that lead to cell degradation. Here, a high efficiency fullerene:polymer blend is used as a model system to follow the temperature-induced morphology evolution through a series of thermal annealing treatments. Electron microscopy analysis of the nano-scale phase evolution during the early stages of thermal annealing revealed that spinodal decomposition, i.e. spontaneous phase separation with no nucleation stage, is possibly responsible for the formation of a fine scale bicontinuous structure. In the later evolution stages, large polycrystalline fullerene aggregates are formed. Optical microscopy and scattering revealed that aggregate-growth follows the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation indicating a heterogeneous transformation process, i.e., through nucleation and growth. These two mechanisms, spinodal decomposition vs. nucleation and growth, are mutually exclusive and their co-existence is surprising. This unexpected observation is resolved by introducing a metastable monotectic phase diagram and showing that the morphology evolution goes through two distinct and consecutive transformation processes where spinodal decomposition of the amorphous donor:acceptor blend is followed by nucleation and growth of crystalline acceptor aggregates. Finally, this unified thermodynamic and kinetic mechanism allows us to correlate the morphology evolution with OSC degradation during thermal annealing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artem Levitsky
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
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10
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Aliouat MY, Ksenzov D, Escoubas S, Ackermann J, Thiaudière D, Mocuta C, Benoudia MC, Duche D, Thomas O, Grigorian S. Direct Observations of the Structural Properties of Semiconducting Polymer: Fullerene Blends under Tensile Stretching. MATERIALS 2020; 13:ma13143092. [PMID: 32664316 PMCID: PMC7412098 DOI: 10.3390/ma13143092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We describe the impact of tensile strains on the structural properties of thin films composed of PffBT4T-2OD π-conjugated polymer and PC71BM fullerenes coated on a stretchable substrate, based on a novel approach using in situ studies of flexible organic thin films. In situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) measurements were carried out to probe the ordering of polymers and to measure the strain of the polymer chains under uniaxial tensile tests. A maximum 10% tensile stretching was applied (i.e., beyond the relaxation threshold). Interestingly we found different behaviors upon stretching the polymer: fullerene blends with the modified polymer; fullerene blends with the 1,8-Diiodooctane (DIO) additive. Overall, the strain in the system was almost twice as low in the presence of additive. The inclusion of additive was found to help in stabilizing the system and, in particular, the π-π packing of the donor polymer chains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mouaad Yassine Aliouat
- Aix Marseille Univ, U. Toulon, CNRS, IM2NP (Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanosciences de Provence), Campus St-Jérôme, 13397 Marseille CEDEX 20, France; (M.Y.A.); (D.D.); (O.T.)
- Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines et de la Métallurgie, L3M, Annaba, Sidi Amar W129, Algeria;
| | - Dmitriy Ksenzov
- Institute of Physics, University of Siegen, D-57068 Siegen, Germany;
| | - Stephanie Escoubas
- Aix Marseille Univ, U. Toulon, CNRS, IM2NP (Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanosciences de Provence), Campus St-Jérôme, 13397 Marseille CEDEX 20, France; (M.Y.A.); (D.D.); (O.T.)
- Correspondence: (S.E.); (S.G.)
| | - Jörg Ackermann
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, CINAM, 13007 Marseille, France;
| | - Dominique Thiaudière
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers Saint-Aubin, CEDEX BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette CEDEX, France; (D.T.); (C.M.)
| | - Cristian Mocuta
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L’Orme des Merisiers Saint-Aubin, CEDEX BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette CEDEX, France; (D.T.); (C.M.)
| | - Mohamed Cherif Benoudia
- Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines et de la Métallurgie, L3M, Annaba, Sidi Amar W129, Algeria;
| | - David Duche
- Aix Marseille Univ, U. Toulon, CNRS, IM2NP (Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanosciences de Provence), Campus St-Jérôme, 13397 Marseille CEDEX 20, France; (M.Y.A.); (D.D.); (O.T.)
| | - Olivier Thomas
- Aix Marseille Univ, U. Toulon, CNRS, IM2NP (Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanosciences de Provence), Campus St-Jérôme, 13397 Marseille CEDEX 20, France; (M.Y.A.); (D.D.); (O.T.)
| | - Souren Grigorian
- Institute of Physics, University of Siegen, D-57068 Siegen, Germany;
- Correspondence: (S.E.); (S.G.)
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Liu X, Zhang C, Pang S, Li N, Brabec CJ, Duan C, Huang F, Cao Y. Ternary All-Polymer Solar Cells With 8.5% Power Conversion Efficiency and Excellent Thermal Stability. Front Chem 2020; 8:302. [PMID: 32426324 PMCID: PMC7212455 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2020.00302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) composed of polymer donors and acceptors have attracted widespread attention in recent years. However, the broad and efficient photon utilization of polymer:polymer blend films remains challenging. In our previous work, we developed NOE10, a linear oligoethylene oxide (OE) side-chain modified naphthalene diimide (NDI)-based polymer acceptor which exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.1% when blended with a wide-bandgap polymer donor PBDT-TAZ. Herein, we report a ternary all-PSC strategy of incorporating a state-of-the-art narrow bandgap polymer (PTB7-Th) into the PBDT-TAZ:NOE10 binary system, which enables 8.5% PCEs within a broad ternary polymer ratio. We further demonstrate that, compared to the binary system, the improved photovoltaic performance of ternary all-PSCs benefits from the combined effect of enhanced photon absorption, more efficient charge generation, and balanced charge transport. Meanwhile, similar to the binary system, the ternary all-PSC also shows excellent thermal stability, maintaining 98% initial PCE after aging for 300 h at 65°C. This work demonstrates that the introduction of a narrow-bandgap polymer as a third photoactive component into ternary all-PSCs is an effective strategy to realize highly efficient and stable all-PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Liu
- School of Textile Materials and Engineering, Wuyi University, Jiangmen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chaohong Zhang
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
- SUSTech Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Shuting Pang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ning Li
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Erlangen, Germany
| | - Christoph J. Brabec
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Erlangen, Germany
| | - Chunhui Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yong Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
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12
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Du X, Heumueller T, Gruber W, Almora O, Classen A, Qu J, He F, Unruh T, Li N, Brabec CJ. Unraveling the Microstructure-Related Device Stability for Polymer Solar Cells Based on Nonfullerene Small-Molecular Acceptors. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2020; 32:e1908305. [PMID: 32108389 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201908305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 02/02/2020] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
As the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs) has surpassed the 17% baseline, the long-term stability of highly efficient OSCs is essential for the practical application of this photovoltaic technology. Here, the photostability and possible degradation mechanisms of three state-of-the-art polymer donors with a commonly used nonfullerene acceptor (NFA), IT-4F, are investigated. The active-layer materials show excellent intrinsic photostability. The initial morphology, in particular the mixed region, causes degradation predominantly in the fill factor (FF) under illumination. Electron traps are formed due to the reorganization of polymers and diffusion-limited aggregation of NFAs to assemble small isolated acceptor domains under illumination. These electron traps lead to losses mainly in FF, which is in contradistinction to the degradation mechanisms observed for fullerene-based OSCs. Control of the composition of NFAs close to the thermodynamic equilibrium limit while keeping adequate electron percolation and improving the initial polymer and NFA ordering are of the essence to stabilize the FF in NFA-based solar cells, which may be the key tactics to develop next-generation OSCs with high efficiency as well as excellent stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Du
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Thomas Heumueller
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Gruber
- Institute of Crystallography and Structural Physics, Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Interdisciplinary Center for Nanostructured Films (IZNF), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Osbel Almora
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91052, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andrej Classen
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jianfei Qu
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute and Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Feng He
- Shenzhen Grubbs Institute and Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Tobias Unruh
- Institute of Crystallography and Structural Physics, Department of Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Interdisciplinary Center for Nanostructured Films (IZNF), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Cauerstr. 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ning Li
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, No. 100 Science Avenue, 450002, Zhengzhou, P. R. China
| | - Christoph J Brabec
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
- Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
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